COPYRIGHT

On 7 January 1911 Beckles Willson, Honorary Secretary of the Charles Dickens Testimonial, explained the scheme to the readers of the Spectator. Three members of Dickens's family were, Willson explained, 'drawing a niggardly pension of £25 per annum from the British Government', and that 'no volume recently published of Dickens has returned any copyright fee, save those which bear the Dickens copyright stamp'. The stamp was 'on sale for one penny each-in sheets of twelve-at every bookseller's in the land, and at all Messrs. W. H. Smith's and Wyman's news-stalls.

2pp., 16mo. Bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper, with small hole through both leaves at top inner corner. Beneath the signature the faint stamp of the St. James's Budget, 15 Dorset Street, EC. Raven-Hill points out that the Pall Mall Budget had only the right to use his drawings 'in that paper', and that he holds 'the entire copyright of all my drawings that appeared' in that magazine. 'If you want any of mine you could of course get the blocks from them & we could come to some arrangement about using them'.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper, with small hole through both leaves at top inner corner. The letter begins: 'As far as I can remember I keep the Copyright of my late drawings in the Pall Mall Budget'. He refers Brodhurst to the magazine's editors, and apologises for his alte response.

ONE (memorandum): Headed: 'Memorandum of an Agreement between Messrs: Henry S. King & Co: of 65 Cornhill London of the one part and Mortimer Collins Esqre. of Knowl Hill, Twyford, Berks of the other part.' 19 March 1872. 1p., folio. In fair condition, on lightly-aged and worn paper. Pencil annotations. Five stamps at head (four embossed and one ink).

On 7 x 11 cm rectangle cut from front of envelope. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with glue from mount adhering to reverse, which is docketed in pencil: 'Serjt Talfourd | Readng | Berks'. The frank reads, with the words in square brackets not in Talfourd's hand, unlike the rest: '[Shrewsbury March] Twenty three | [The Very Revd.] The Dean | Hereford | [signed] T N Talfourd'.

16pp., 16mo. Stapled. In fair condition, on aged paper, with slight staining to last leaf. Printed in red on the title-page: 'NOTE. - After perusal, please file this Pamphlet for reference, or to lend to others interested in Patents.' An introductory note by the firm sets out the aims of the work: 'To Patentees and Manufacturers. | This Pamphlet, describing the Law and Practice relating to Patents, is designed as a useful guide to Patentees.

1p., foolscap 8vo. On laid paper, with red embossed tax stamp in top left-hand corner. In fair condition, lightly-aged. The memorandum is seventeen lines long, and begins: 'Memorandum of an Agreement made this twenty second day of October One thousand eight hundred and seventy four. Between Mr J. Hain Friswell of Fair House, Bexley Heath, Kent, of the one part and Messrs. Henry S. King & Co. of 65 Cornhill London publishers of the other part. | The said Mr J. Hain Friswell has written a Work entitled "The better self" which he herby assigns to Messrs. Henry S.

1p., 4to. 15 lines. On aged and worn paper. The letter reads 'Dear Sir/ | A general meeting of all the Dramatic Authors will take place at the Garricks head in Bow Street on Monday nexxt at One o'Clock.

3 pp, 16mo. 47 lines. Text clear and complete. In small tight and difficult hand. Fair, on lightly-aged paper. He begins by thanking them for the cheque for a thousand francs for the translation of the book by Henri Van Laun, before going on, in response to an enquiry from the recipients, to discuss other translations of his work into English, with reference to the London publishers Sampson Low & Co, and Reeves & Co.

Letter One: 2 pp, 12mo. 23 lines. Good. Docketed '3.5.26 | copd.' He thanks him for his letters, and has 'sent the verses to Sanderson'. The copies of the 'Quilter publications' that Bennett needed for the writing of an article in the 'Music Teacher' have not arrived. Asks for information on a 'volume of songs by Sibelius'. 'If they are available could they be included in the Quilter parcel'. He is 'writing about Sibelius for publication in July, & want to be as complete as possible'. Letter Two: 2 pp, 4to. 23 lines. Good, with staple holes to one corner.

Printed on a slip of laid paper. Royal Crest at head. The announcement, signed in type by Bridgeman, is in sixteen lines of small type. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Tate and Brady have petitioned that they have, 'with their utmost Care and Industry, compleated A New Version of the Psalms of David', and their request that 'the said Version may be used in such Congregations as shall think fit to receive it' is agreed to.

4to, 1 p. 19 lines. Text clear and complete. On aged and lightly creased paper, with strip of sunning to left-hand margin. Neat signature: 'Nicolas Bentley'. The film and television rights to the book were all 'bought some years ago by Herbert Wilcox, who, as I understand it, still owns them'. Bentley has reports the opinion of 'Messrs A. P. Watt, my late father's agent', on the question of the radio rights. 'I control the stage rights', Bentley states, giving the conditions on which he would agree to a stage adaptation.

8vo, 16 pp Disbound. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged paper, with the final page a little discoloured. Ownership inscriptions of 'Charles Hall Hemphill' and 'James | May 1837'. A significant work: a milestone in the history of copyright law. According to the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, this speech introducing Talfourd's Copyright Bill 'was considered the most telling made in the House during that session'. No copy listed on COPAC, and WorldCat lists three copies (all foreign).

8vo, 9 pp. Disbound. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Headed with the royal crest. The last seven pages carry the 'Schedule'. The British legislature had refused to ratify the 1872 Dominion of Canada bill that enshrined a fixed-royalty principle for Canadian publishers to re-print British copyrighted works. This act only allowed Canadian republishing of books that had gone out of print.

16mo, 3 pp. Bifolium. Thirteen lines of text. Clear and complete. On aged paper with heavy staining to outer pages. Clarifying the position regarding 'new editions with additions'. The Bodleian is entitled to copies of these, 'unless the additions are separate - then we can only claim the new matter'. Explains that the Library's 'agent in London', Eccles of Great Russell Street, 'receives for us, or collects, as it may be the of the Publishers'. Docketed in pencil in a contemporary hand on the blank reverse of the second leaf.

12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He was introduced to the recipient 'by Mr. Philip Malleson of Croydon, when I wanted to send an Essay to The Albemarle'. Asks if he 'might be disposed to let me write a volume on Jane Austen or Leigh Hunt for your Dilettante Library', Austen being 'specially before the public just now'. He has edited Austen's novels and two 'well received' volumes of selections from Hunt for 'Mr. Dent's Temple Library'. 'If you do not care to arrange for either of these authors I would suggest Miss Burney[,] Hazlitt or T. L. Peacock.

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Eleven lines. Text clear and complete. On aged, grubby paper. Spike hole in top left-hand corner (not affecting text). Docketed at head. Granting Maguire permission to publish extracts from the out-of-print 'Greenwood's Selections from Wellington's Despatches [sic]', providing he makes 'the full customary acknowledgement of the source whence they are taken'. The two parts of Maguire's 'British Army under Wellington' appeared in 1906 and 1907.

Dimensions of card roughly 7.5 x 12 cm. Ten lines. Cream card with letterhead, stamp and other matter printed in brown. Lightly aged but good. Addressed to 'J. R. Thursfield, Esq. | Fryth | Great Berkhamstead [sic]'. Letterhead and text of letter at right angles to the address on the other side. Informing Thursfield that Jusserand's 'Literary History of the English People' ('a copy of which you have received') will be published on 20 February 1895, 'and that notices may appear on or after that date'.

12mo, 1 p. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Thanking them for the cheque, and returning the 'form of permission to reprint the four poems, signed' (not present).

12mo, 2 pp. Good, on lightly aged paper, with traces of a paper stub neatly adhering to the blank bottom right-hand corner of the verso. Apologising for his 'long neglect of the subject of your last notice - the Mill Hill Medal. The truth is I am scarcely able to find strength and spirits for the work I have to do, and so am constantly involved in difficulties as to time like those to which extravagant people fall into as to money'. He hopes 'to be able to enjoy the pleasures of our anniversary dinner', although he does not feel he deserves them.